Economic Disparity of the China-Vietnam Economic Border Regions

The northern part of Vietnam borders the southern part of China. Vietnam also shares borders with Laos in the northwest and with Cambodia in the southwest. The Vietnam-Cambodia border is located in relatively flat terrain, but most of the Vietnam—Laos border area and Vietnam—China border regions are surrounded by mountains and precipitous landforms. Various ethnic minorities have lived in these border regions, and these residents of border areas had transported goods freely between the neighboring countries as a part of their living area. Thus, when the concept of the national border had been finalized, this proved troublesome for ethnic minorities who have a disposition toward the cyclical movement of shifting cultivation areas.